n° 74 - April-May-June 2014
Le journal de l'IRD
Translations: Technicis
W
hat if overgrazing
wasn’t as bad for
soil as we thought? It’s
currently identified as one
of the main causes of farmland degradation. Livestock in excessive quantities
compress the earth, disturb
biogeochemical exchanges
and exhaust plant resources. Despite this, an IRD team and their South African partners
were, under certain conditions, able to rehabilitate one hectare of land with the
concentrated grazing of over 1,000 cows. The results are spectacular: one year after the
animals came through, the ground is filled with new growth.
The DNA of the Tsetse
Fly Decoded At Last
I
t took ten years of work for 145
scientists to decode the DNA of the
tsetse fly. The international consortium, which includes IRD researchers,
has just published its findings for the
DNA sequencing of the fly in Science
magazine. Through their bites, these
flies transmit trypanosome parasites,
responsible for human sleeping sickness
and for trypanosomiasis in domestic
animals.
n the Mozambique Channel, whirlpools
hundreds of kilometres wide take shape,
move around, and interact with each
other and the coast. The Mesobio program
is studying their impact across all food
chains. The centre of the whirlpools is
ideal for plankton production, which
accumulates at the edges. The largest
predators are attracted to this area: marine birds and swordfish make the edges their
exclusive hunting zone, even favouring certain parts.
P. 10 Research
Debt and Debts
in the South
D
ebt in the Global South takes on
many faces: individual or collective,
crushing or manageable, due to economic
downturns or not. Debt forgiveness
initiatives are multiplying, to lift the
obstacle to development that public debt
burdens are causing in certain countries.
At first glance, these cancellations generally seem virtuous when they are accompanied
by serious conditions for governance and financial management. For Southern households,
financial exclusion does not exempt them from over-indebtedness. But this personal
debt is difficult to evaluate with the usual tools. Depending on the situation, it
can reflect a serious situation or a favourable one. Finally, the history and the tensions
around natural resources have led to the emergence of a notion of ecological debt,
now significant in the relationships between North and South, as well as between large
economic players and local communities.
MOOCs
for the South
A
gudgeon from China could be a
real threat for the ecosystems
and economies of Subsaharan Africa,
in terms of the region’s resources and raw
materials. A recent study has shown that
this invasive fish has already colonised
the aquatic environments of Southeast
Asia, invaded Europe from east to west
in just 30 years, and devastated the
villages of North Africa, leading to the
decline and extinction of species that
share its new ecosystem.
© IRD / P. Chanard
© IRD / R. Gozlan
aving first appeared just a few
years ago, the MOOC phenomenon
is gaining popularity in the North and
seems set to turn the higher education
landscape upside down. For Southern
countries, it could be a considerable
opportunity. It’s an answer to a growing
student population, a lack of classes, and
a large demand for professional and continued education. Key players in research
and teaching in the South, including
teams from IRD and their partners, are
offering or preparing to launch initiatives that meet the specific needs of countries
and audiences concerned, all while adapting to any technical limitations that may be
encountered.
P. 6 Education
Highlights from an
interview with
Jean-François Mattei,
President of the French
Red Cross Fund.
P. 3 News
The Unexpected Altruism
of Predatory Bugs
A
ltruism can benefit an entire community, and it’s even true for the
offspring of Zelus annulosus. This predatory insect uses the leaves of the Hirtella,
a pubescent tropical plant, as a nursery.
By studying its nymphs, scientists have
observed a behaviour that is surprising,
to say the least: when one of them
manages to capture prey, it shares it
generously with its fellow insects.
P. 11 Value Creation
Collegial Expertise Provided on lake Chad
W
hat is the current state of lake Chad? A collegial expertise report, requested
from IRD by the Lake Chad Basin Commission, explores the various aspects of the
matter. It mobilises the skills of a dozen experts coming in equal numbers from French
institutions and neighbouring countries. Officially delivered to the Commission this past
February, it brings previously unseen scientific expertise to the matter, outlines areas for
further work and makes concrete recommendations. The future of lake Chad, which
currently functions as an oasis in the Sahel, is a matter of concern to far more people
than just the countries in question. For the past several years, it has been brought up
at major environmental conferences, and the 2010 World Sustainable Development
Forum was devoted to it. On this occasion, and at a time when considerable investments
are planned, an assessment of current knowledge was clearly necessary.
© IRD / C. Paquette
© A. Dejean
SAS: How can research
contribute to humanitarian
efforts?
J.-F. M.: There is not a lot of dialogue
between the two worlds. But dialogue is essential. I believe, as the
philosopher Henri Bergson said,
that we must «think like a man of action, and act like a man of thought.»
Humanitarian workers cannot work effectively in developing countries without
basing projects on local sociological and anthropological data. It’s the same for ethics.
Just as it helped the healthcare field adapt to the scientific and medical revolution,
I’m convinced that ethics will contribute to this humanitarian transition between
Western and developing countries. But it is essential to specify on what terms Western
ethics can be appropriated on a local basis. Researchers and operational field
workers need to work together. It’s the objective of our Fund, and in this framework we
launched an initial call for applications in early March. We’ve received 45 applications,
a sign that there is a real need and lack of means.
P. 7 Research
Family Farms and
the Turmoil of Innovation
T
© IRD / D. Caruso
he world is changing, with unprecedented kinds of transformations and
demographic growth. Like other economic
players, family farms are faced with modern
challenges, and have a major role to play in
the fight against poverty, in food security,
and in the sustainable management of
natural resources. Through innovation, they
are adapting and responding. But the road
to change is fraught with peril.
P. 4 Partner
© Cirad / G. Magrin
H
The Danger of the
Topmouth Gudgeon
P. 15 Planet
Renovating Large Social
Housing Complexes
in the South
R
enovating social housing is becoming
a crucial challenge for Southern cities.
Countries involved in massive housing
construction projects, like in Latin America,
are now discovering their pitfalls. What
can be done with these neighbourhoods that were built hastily to meet real housing
needs, but which are creating as many problems as they resolve? This was the central
question at a workshop organised by IRD urban planners at the recent UN-Habitat World
Urban Forum in Medellín, Colombia.
P. 15 Planet
P. 8 Research
Transmission
of Vector-borne
Diseases:
the Intestinal
War
V
ector-borne
diseases spread by
insects, such as malaria,
sleeping sickness, and leishmaniasis, affect millions of people every year. But not all
vectors react to parasites in the same way. Some build up resistance, which could in
part be due to their intestinal flora.
© Institut Pasteur / B. Rotureau et F. Gardy
Record Flooding in the Amazon
Plants to Heal Fish
aced with the abuse of antibiotics in
farming, and its health consequences,
such as the accumulation of residues in
the environment and the development of
bacterial resistance, a search for alternatives
is underway. Experts in veterinary medicine
are taking an interest in the preventative
and curative properties of plants. For the
first time, researchers from the IRD and
their partners conducted ethnobotanical
research with more than 1,000 fish
farmers, initially in West Java, then in
Central Java and in two provinces of
North Vietnam.
I
P. 6 Education
P. 2 News
F
The Whirlpool of Life
U
nprecedented flooding mobilized
the Hybam observation team,
coordinated by the IRD, in the Amazon
basin. In January 2014, heavy rains
fell at the base of the Bolivian and
Peruvian Andes. The Madeira River
burst its banks and flooded Peru,
Bolivia, and later Brazil for several
months. In 50 years of observations,
the waters had never reached that
height, surpassing previous records
by 2 metres, with a continuously
heavy flow. The damage in the three
countries is massive.
© IRD / F. Timouk
P. 1 News
P. 9 Research
© CNRS – CECB / A. Prudo
Flash Overgrazing
to Renew Soil
© XX
© ????????
P. 5 Partners
© IRD / V. Chaplot
Abstracts for the international issue
Consult the articles in full on the IRD Internet site: http://www.ird.fr
Sans titre-2 1
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